Las Vegas

View of the CityCenter, a mixed-use urban development center on the Las Vegas Strip. Even by the over-the-top standards that have made Las Vegas famous, the $8.5-billion, 18-million-square-foot complex of hotels, condos and shops opening in the Nevada gambling capital is unprecedented. It is the most expensive privately funded construction project in U.S. history. (Credit: AFP / Getty Images, 2009)